New Zealand manufacturing sales volumes rise by 1 pct in the June quarter

Manufacturing sales volumes in New Zealand rose during the June-quarter by 1 percent q/q after two-quarters of declines. There were strong gains in meat and dairy volumes, as well as other food and beverages. However, there were declines in most of the non-food categories, including a reversal of the sharp jump in transport and machinery that had boosted the March quarter.

Stripping out the meat and dairy impact, ‘core’ sales volumes fell 0.2 percent q/q, after a lift of 1.5 percent q/q in Q1. Of the 12 core industries, seven recorded higher sales volumes, while five experienced falls. Petroleum and coal product manufacturing (-10.4 percent q/q) and chemical, polymer and rubber product manufacturing (-7.9 percent q/q) were the biggest drags (reversing opposite moves in Q1).

"Nonetheless it reinforces further downside risk to our Q2 GDP expectations (currently +1.0 percent q/q). We already saw downside risk following the softer-than-expected building work data earlier in the week. Today’s figures add to that," ANZ Research commented in its latest report.

Meanwhile, FxWirePro launches Absolute Return Managed Program. For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/invest